'COVID-19 had negative impact on case disposal'
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday March 15, 2022 06:00
He said during the 2021 legal year, the disposal rate for criminal cases at the High Courts was 37% whilst at the Magistrate’s Courts it was 48%.
“The disposal rate for civil cases at the High Courts is 42% whilst at the Magistrate's Courts is 57%,” stated the minister.
He said the new court rules stipulate that a judgement should be passed within 90 days. The minister added the chief registrar is responsible for monitoring the case disposal monthly.
In addition, he said this requirement will improve access to justice by ensuring timely delivery of judgments since each month a judge will receive a performance report indicating which cases are still awaiting a decision out of the turnaround time.
Furthermore, he said it had to be noted that although it has been two years since the outbreak of COVID-19, its debilitating effect and quick spread posed major challenges, which affected the operations of the courts and hampered the execution of planned projects, particularly concerning the utilisation of funds for such projects.
“That notwithstanding, the Administration of Justice was able to implement the second phase of the establishment of the Maun High Court Division with the addition of a third courtroom and an administration block is expected to be completed by the end of March 2022,” Mmusi told legislators.
“The setting up of this division in Maun is meant to reduce the distance travelled and costs incurred by litigants and the public in the North West District and North-Western Region in their pursuit to access our service.”
He added that the Rules of Courts have been amended under Statutory Instrument No.1 of 2021 to establish Court Annexed Mediation (CAM) as part of Judicial Case Management.
He said the intention is to facilitate an efficient, cost-effective and speedy resolution of disputes in CAM, which will promote mediation and assist the parties to reach an expedited settlement without having to go the length of a trial.
Mmusi said a structure is prescribed in the Rules for the Administration of Court Annexed Mediation and an office of a Mediation Administrator is to be established for that purpose.
Further, the rules also provide for the appointment of mediators who will be responsible for mediating in cases under these rules and specifies how they qualify as such.
Still, on the issue, he elaborated that the engagement of a consultancy to spearhead the Court Annexed Mediation project is ongoing.